


Sailing in the Dark

by saddle_tramp



Series: Here There Be Dragons [1]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 22:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12921705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saddle_tramp/pseuds/saddle_tramp
Summary: Wherein Flint owes far more than his life to Silver, Silver finally learns how to listen to his own heart, and Thomas patiently waits for them to figure out what he knew almost from the start.Title inspired by something Flint said in the last episode:"In the dark there is discovery, there is possibility, there isfreedom."





	Sailing in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah. I had read some _'Black Sails'_ fic by a very few of my favorite authors (Bookmarked the best, including a series by Apetslife that got me started!) but I had never actually seen the show until the recent weekend marathon. I was hooked from the start. I remember hearing about people hating the ending, but I loved it and it left me with all these _feels_. I tried reading fic to get rid of it but that just made it worse because nothing I read even touched on the thinky thoughts I had stuck in my head. Then this happened.

~*~*~

When Flint and Silver left Skeleton Island for the last time together on the _Lion_ , Flint had wanted desperately to believe in Silver's promises given there on the island, murmured words kept between just the two of them. He had believed that _Silver_ believed that he'd truly found his Thomas, that at the end of the journey Flint could go back to the man he once was. The very idea had made Flint want desperately to believe as Silver did, want to try despite the fact his rational mind told him he could never be just James McGraw again instead of being the notorious pirate Captain Flint, but as their destination grew closer even that unreasoning hope had faded away.

Flint didn't make the slightest attempt to avoid the fate Silver planned for him, though. He accepted that Silver was trying to do what he thought was best for him, trying to _save_ him, he could see the truth of it in Silver's worried blue eyes when he spoke of it. He could try to let himself be saved for Silver's sake, even though he couldn't truly believe it was possible anymore. If his exile turned out to be unbearable, Flint had no doubt he could fight his way free, given time. Plantations were quiet, genteel places compared to the world he had lived in for the last ten years and he could surely find a way to slip away some night and make his way to the nearest port.

It surprised Flint when they drew near shore and found their old friend Captain Morgan and his agile little sloop the _Runswift_ waiting there for them, tied up to the roughly-hewn wooden pier at a tiny coastal village north of Savannah so small it wasn't really much other than a warehouse, a trading post, and a few homes. Jack and Anne made themselves scarce as soon as Silver called for a longboat to be readied, as did most of the rest of the crew, and Flint found himself alone with Silver on the deck. Silver's shadow, Hands, approached them a few moments later with a set of shackles and Flint's faith in Silver's good intentions was strained nearly to the breaking point as he learned that he was expected to wear them. He didn't argue when Hands moved to offer him a shackle to let his hands be chained, didn't say a word in fact, but inside he seethed with anger.

They climbed over the side and down to the longboat a few moments later, Flint almost as slow and awkward on the climb down as Silver was because his shackles had only two links of chain between his hands, but he didn't complain. He was excruciatingly aware of the shackles as they headed towards the shore in the longboat, the rough, rusted metal rubbing at his wrists and reminding him of other times he had been chained, but still he had said nothing, climbing ashore when he was told and then letting Silver guide him into a small wagon that Morgan had arranged for when the _Lion_ was spotted.

The journey to the plantation seemed to take an eternity to Flint, who spent much of the ride staring at Silver, his green eyes hard and his jaw clenched in anger even though a small part of him he'd never admit to wanted to shake with fear. Silver had known why Flint retreated into the familiar safety of anger, he always knew, and his sad-eyed reassurance that Flint would soon be glad of what Silver had done had sparked Flint's temper to a sudden blaze. Flint had torn at Silver's insecurities with sharp, angry words then that were calculated to hurt, knowing instinctively as always what to say that would get the reaction he wanted out of Silver just as Silver always knew exactly what words that Flint couldn't ignore.

Silver hadn't said the words that could shame Flint into silence though, he simply let Flint attack him and accepted it as if it were deserved. Flint eventually wound down on his own, his rage draining away and leaving him feeling suddenly sad, and then Silver finally spoke to promise again that it would all be made right very soon.

Flint didn't believe Silver, couldn't believe, but he kept his silence. When the carriage stopped he went where Silver asked, quiet and obedient as he could not have been for anyone else, though he knew Silver would have been surprised to learn that Silver was the only person left that Flint felt he could truly trust with his life. He remained silent while Silver finalized the deal to _buy_ him into slavery, paying such a high price that it made Flint doubt his own sanity for a moment as he listened to Silver discuss it with the overseer. Flint was to have free access to correspondence, which Flint gathered was unusual, and he was to share a cabin with a man named Milton and work on the same crew, arrangements that the overseer mentioned were exactly what Silver's man had asked for.

Flint had looked at Silver then, wondering how long Silver had planned to lock him safely away there under guard so far from any port where their friends might often sail.

Silver surprised Flint by stepping in close a moment later and putting one strong hand on the back of Flint's neck, tugging him down to lean their foreheads together as he closed his eyes and murmured, "Remember that I will _always_ come when you ask it of me. I'll sail on the first tide after a message finds me even if I have to steal a ship to do it. You have my solemn oath on it."

Flint had found himself unable to speak as it suddenly became very real to him that Silver truly was leaving him there in chains. The idea didn't spark his temper as it should have, didn't make him want to fight for his freedom as he so often had been forced to do in the past. It left him strangely empty instead, feeling blank and kind of cold at the prospect that he had pushed Silver so far, pushed his friends so far, that they would put him into such a place for his own safety and the safety of those who cared for him too much to simply kill him and be done with it. He was sure that it was Silver's reluctance to hurt him that had brought him to that dim, cool plantation home, Silver's loyalty and love that had sparked him to secure Flint a home there where he would be anonymous, safe not only from his enemies but also from well-meaning friends who might lead him back into the life Silver was trying so hard to free him from.

Silver opened his eyes when he realized Flint wasn't going to speak, looking searchingly into Flint's green eyes for a few moments before he said quietly, "You _will_ thank me for this, I _promise you_ that you will. I have done my very best for you." He surprised Flint then by pressing a kiss to his cheek before he moved his lips very close to Flint's ear and whispered almost soundlessly, "Be _happy_ , James." He pulled away and quickly left the room without looking at Flint again at all, Hands and Morgan following silently behind him.

Flint just stood there staring at the door until the overseer moved closer as the man said quietly, "Come along, then. You're to see Lord Chatham and then it's to the cane fields with you until the evening bell. Master Silver was quite specific, paid a good bit extra to see you on one particular crew."

Flint nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and let himself be led in silence down a dark hallway to a parlor where the master of the plantation sat having tea with three women. One of the ladies was much older than Lord Chatham, obviously the dowager of the family, and Flint would have felt safe hazarding a guess that the others were the man's wife and daughter.

Lord Chatham looked a bit surprised when he saw Flint but then he set aside his tea and stood, obviously pleased as he gave Flint a warm smile that made Flint wonder if they had met before. If Flint had ever known the man he had forgotten him, but he had the strong feeling that was not the case for Lord Chatham.

"Master Silver's companion has just arrived, sir," the overseer said quietly. "Everything is in order." He passed over Silver's leather pouch of gems and gold to the owner, adding, "Master Silver has been at sea of late and isn't sure of the exact value of the gems he used as payment so he has added a modest amount of Spanish coin to the agreed upon number. He wishes the excess to be considered as a gift, to show his gratitude for the special arrangements made on his companion's behalf."

"That was very good of him," Lord Chatham said as he hefted the bag slightly to judge the weight, surprised but pleased. "I shall have to send him a letter soon to thank him." He glanced at Flint and then back at the overseer, adding, "You'll be escorting our new guest out to the fields immediately, I assume?"

"Yes sir," the overseer agreed. "I'm taking him straight out to join his crew right now."

"Very good," Lord Chatham said, giving a short nod before he turned away back towards his family in obvious dismissal.

The overseer gestured for Flint to go and they headed back the way they came again as the overseer moved past Flint to lead the way. Flint followed where he was led silently, leaving the house through a rear door to walk towards tall cane fields that stretched almost as far as Flint could see. They moved to a road between two fields and the overseer spoke to Flint as they began to walk along it, telling him the rules of the place and asking for his word to abide by them, but Flint barely heard him, agreeing automatically as he wondered just how long he would be able to stand to live there. The slaves they passed were relatively clean and well-fed and many even looked happy, regardless of the color of their skin, but Flint was sure that the work he saw them doing would quickly begin to get to him. It was all much easier than hoisting sail or sacking an unlucky merchant ship, of course, but the monotony would start to be mind-numbingly boring after only a day or two, he was sure.

The road soon made a turn at a field that was being cut and groomed to replant, and they stopped next to it as the overseer said gruffly, "Your hands, Mister McGraw."

Flint obediently offered up his hands, wondering if he had been told the man's name and simply missed it as he glanced towards the field just in time to see one of the men stop working and slowly start to turn towards him.

"That would be Milton, the man you're to share a cabin with," the overseer said as he finished releasing Flint's hands and stepped back. "I understand you know each other, McGraw, which should make your settling in here go a bit easier for you. Milton has been here for quite some time and has earned a favored place among our... guests. He will be able to keep you out of trouble easy enough if you heed his words."

Flint glanced at the overseer and then back at Thomas, staring as he murmured, "I'll gladly do _anything_ that Thomas asks of me."

"You should get on fine here then," the overseer said quietly, but Flint wasn't really listening to him anymore. He was walking towards Thomas without waiting for permission to do so, and a few moments later he was finally back in Thomas' arms again.

It felt to Flint like he had come home after years of being lost, adrift in a nightmare world where it seemed he had fought for survival at every moment. Flint's eyes blurred with tears as he held on to Thomas almost tightly enough to bruise, reveling in the feeling of Thomas' strong arms holding him just as tightly. They pulled back slightly after a few moments, foreheads still touching as Flint fought to control himself, to stop the tears that trickled slowly down his cheeks.

Flint realized after a few moments that Thomas wanted to kiss him and he didn't hesitate, feeling a sudden thrill as he realized that all the reasons their love was kept behind locked doors in the past were no longer relevant. They were both slaves, long forgotten by polite society and what remained of the family whose opinions had once so constrained Thomas. Gossip could no longer hurt either of them and Flint was suddenly very sure that being free to love his Thomas openly without reprisal was one of those 'special arrangements' Silver had seen to on his behalf.

They kissed for what seemed like only an instant to Flint and then pulled apart again just enough to breathe, foreheads pressed together as Flint savored having Thomas' arms around him and staring into Thomas' sparkling grey-blue eyes. "I feel like I've just been freed from my own personal Hell," Flint whispered after a moment. "I have missed you _every moment_ we were apart."

Thomas tightened his grip on Flint slightly, murmuring, "And I you, beloved." He kissed Flint again, then added quietly, "I knew you were alive, we heard of your exploits even here, but part of the agreement when Peter delivered me here was that I would never be allowed to contact anyone outside the gates, not even him." He closed his eyes then as he added very softly, "I know about Father too, though, and what happened in Charles Town. One of the guards has a brother who was there that horrible day and saw it all unfold."

Flint swallowed hard, pained as he murmured, "I should beg your forgiveness for killing your father, but I hated him so very much for what he did to you that I cannot regret it." He hesitated and then added almost too quietly to hear, "And Peter's death was easier than he deserved."

"Perhaps it is proof I am the monster they condemned me as, James, but I cannot regret their deaths either," Thomas admitted softly. "Had I been given the chance when they visited here, I could have killed them both with my bare hands for what they did even before Peter caused Miranda's death and tried so very hard to murder you as well."

"I knew your father had visited Savannah with Peter," Flint said quietly. "I did not know it was because you were here though, not until my closest friend told me he had discovered the truth barely more than a week ago." He paused slightly, thinking about Silver. "I would be leading an all-out war with England right now had John Silver not taken it upon himself to save me from my own folly. He wanted so badly for me to be free of the life I've led that he brought me here under guard, shackled to be sure that I would not escape at the last moment and ruin his plans to bring us together again."

"You told him about me?" Thomas asked, smiling.

"How could I not?" Flint replied, quiet and serious. "Silver is the one man in this world I would feel safe trusting with _your_ life, and he could not truly know me without knowing that it was losing you that stole away my reason and transformed me into who I became after I took the name Flint."

"I have heard more than you might wish of your life during our years apart," Thomas pointed out, his smile turning wry. "Peter came here not long after we heard the first rumors of Captain Flint, bringing another bribe to ensure that no word of my presence here would escape the gates. He told me then that you were Flint and said that you had become the very worst sort of pirate, plundering any ship that crossed your path. I refused to accept that it could truly be you for over a year, but then I heard the serving girls gossiping one day about how romantic it was that the notorious Captain Flint was completely loyal to his love, the exiled Lady Barlow. My interest in the exploits of Captain Flint knew no bounds after that and soon my friends among the staff would bring me the rumors they heard." His smile widened. "It brightened my day each time, knowing you were alive and free and living as you wished with no one to answer to but yourself."

"I am glad you had word of my travels to sustain you," Flint murmured. "Life here must surely have been dull."

"It was, but knowing you were still alive gave me hope that perhaps someday I would find a way to get word to you." Thomas moved one hand to the side of Flint's face then, his smile fading away as he added very softly, "I begged Larsden to send word to you that I was here after he told me what his brother saw in Charles Town, told him you would gladly pay him any price he asked once you knew it was truly me, but he refused to risk it." Flint closed his eyes, his grip tightening on Thomas slightly as Thomas rested their foreheads together again and added more softly, "I am so very sorry you were in such pain, beloved. When I heard rumors later of your crew sacking towns along the coast, I feared you had lost yourself completely. I don't know how you ever managed to survive."

"Death would have been easier," Flint admitted as he opened his eyes again to meet Thomas' gaze. "I courted it, daring impossible odds without a care because death no longer frightened me, but somehow despite my best efforts I did not die. I would have been lost a hundred times over if not for Silver, but in the end even he could not support my folly."

"God answered my prayers," Thomas said quietly, very sure of himself as he stared into Flint's green eyes. "I begged Him daily to watch over you for me and keep you safe." He smiled. "I shall spend the rest of my life thanking Him for seeing fit to do so."

Flint smiled crookedly. "I was surely not spared for my own merits."

"Milton! McGraw!" a man called out suddenly, making them pull apart as they turned to look towards the sound. One of the older guards was standing at the edge of the field looking uncomfortable but determined. "Evening bell has not yet rung, there is work to be done."

"I am sorry, Nolan," Thomas replied quickly, a bit sheepish at being called to task. "We forgot ourselves. James has believed me dead for the last ten years and more and we have much to speak of as yet, as I am quite sure you can imagine with your sons so often away at sea."

"Be that as it may, you are quite well aware of the policy on breaks, Milton," Nolan said firmly, still looking uncomfortable. "You have had your five minutes and more. Talk as you work or leave it for after the bell."

"Of course, Nolan," Thomas agreed quickly. "Thank you for allowing us so long."

"You have worked through the day without rest more often than I can count," Nolan said. "You have earned a bit of leniency, but you and your... companion have a dozen rows left to do before the evening bell."

"If I have not completed my share by the bell, I shall gladly stay behind to work until it is done," Thomas promised, smiling at Nolan.

"As will I," Flint agreed. "It has been some time since I last worked the land, but I had developed some skill at it." Thomas looked at him in surprise and Flint added with a slight smile, "Miranda wished to have a garden and I was elected to build it for her." His lips twitched. "I was not allowed a vote."

Thomas laughed. "I would have loved to see that conversation."

Flint's slight smile widened into a grin. "It was... memorable."

"Do get back to work," Nolan said pointedly.

Thomas gave Nolan a slightly sheepish smile and a nod before he looked back at Flint as he grabbed Flint's hand for a moment to give it a squeeze, letting go as he stepped away and bent to grab the hoe he had dropped when he saw Flint. He offered it to Flint, smiling at him as he murmured, "Here, you get started while I go get another out of the wagon. We're just lightly tilling between the rows to be sure the soil stays loose and no weeds are coming up."

"I can do that," Flint agreed, accepting the hoe. "How deeply am I to turn the ground?"

"The depth of the blade," Thomas answered, stepping close to kiss him lightly before he walked quickly away towards the wagon parked just outside the edge of the field.

Flint wanted to keep his gaze on Thomas, to drink in the sight of him moving and breathing and so obviously healthy, but he forced himself to look down instead. He hefted the hoe to get a feel for the balance of it and then began to chop up the soil, every movement graceful and efficient even though it had been nearly two years since he had last done such work.

 

~*~*~

 

Silver wasn't surprised by Madi's rejection of him after he confessed his sins. He had known that she would react in such a way, that his breach of her trust would hurt her far worse than the loss of the war she had been so determined to wage, but it was still painful to hear her sob and know he was the source of her pain.

The Queen was surprisingly tolerant of Silver's wish to stay on the island, but she exiled him from her settlement. It was Madi's home and she wanted to not see Silver, so the Queen threatened to have him flogged if he was found within sight of the land her people claimed as their own. The sentries were all told not to allow him anywhere close until Madi or the Queen said otherwise, and then Silver was ushered by one of the guards to a familiar bluff and given food and a tent and left to fend for himself.

Jack hadn't yet left the island with the _Lion_ when the Queen exiled Silver and he tried hard to get Silver to leave with them, even offered him the position as his Quartermaster, but Silver politely refused. He liked Jack and Anne and many among their crew but the thought of sailing with them left him empty and cold. He had told Jack of his deep and abiding hatred of the very thought of living out his life upon the sea without his captain and crew and Jack had given in gracefully, promising to be Silver's eyes and ears and to visit often to keep him apprised of events in their world. Silver didn't want to be a leader, didn't make any of his choices to bring himself glory or prestige, and yet somehow he had done both in the eyes of most on the account. There were half a dozen ships that would come to his call without delay, no matter why he called, and a dozen more that might stand with them if he asked the right way.

Jack's _Lion_ was the last of the pirate ships that had made Maroon Island so crowded for a time to sail away, leaving Silver and Hands very much alone despite the fact there were nearly two hundred people living on the island. Silver was unwelcome among the Maroon Queen's people, who controlled most of the island and made a habit of reminding him he had strayed too far from the beach by shooting arrows at him, so Silver spent much of his time on the bluff above the wide cove where he and Flint had first set foot on the island. The Queen's people didn't mind having Hands around and had even given him a shack in their camp, but he still preferred to avoid them. Hands had no use for anyone who wasn't a sailor, and little use even for those who spent their lives upon the sea.

For any two other people, being so much alone together might have led to them growing closer, but for Silver and Hands it had the opposite effect. They began their days on the island already unhappy with each other and their alliance deteriorated very rapidly from there. Hands thought Silver was a fool and told him so often the first two days, and Silver couldn't deny it with any certainty so he couldn't be bothered to argue, leading to several one-sided arguments that ended with Hands repeating firmly that they should be in Nassau before stomping off to leave Silver to his own devices. After the third day Hands found somewhere else to be much of the time, though he still checked on Silver once or twice a day at first. As time passed with no change, though, Hands seemed to accept that Silver was safe and eventually began checking on him seldom enough that Silver lost track how long it had been between visits.

Silver didn't mind being left to himself as much as most would, though. He spent an hour or two some days fishing, but the Queen sent supplies to him regularly enough that he didn't bother with it often. Most might have tried napping to pass the time, but nightmares woke Silver so often that he only truly slept when he was too tired to do anything else. He busied himself sometimes with small chores someone else had done for him for so long that he had very nearly forgotten how to do them at all, blundering through as best he could. It might have made another frustrated, or angry, but Silver was through with living his life as a string of battles. He often thought of how his friends would react if they were watching him when he was being particularly slow or graceless, which almost always led to him laughing at himself. He couldn't remember how old he was, had honestly lost track of what year it might be, but he was quite sure he was old enough he ought to be able to wash a shirt without dropping it and having to start over.

Blundering through doing his own laundry and washing his few dishes couldn't really take up much of his time, though. He didn't have enough possessions for that. The majority of Silver's time was spent on the bluff where he and Flint had practiced the sword so many times, staring out over the cove towards the west even though there was seldom anything out there worth watching. He was usually lost in thought about the past, recalling the choices he had made and trying to discern how he might have done things better, saved more friends. It was often a melancholy pursuit, thinking on his mistakes that last year and more, but scattered among the bad times were stolen moments that made him smile as he remembered animated discussions of random topics that didn't matter in the least, quiet moments of peace when words hadn't been necessary, or even the night when he had too much to drink and had let himself be coerced to dance and sing.

It took Silver a long time to realize that the memories that made him most wistful, the times he most wished he could go back to and live again for the simple pleasure of them, had seldom involved Madi. Realizing that it was Flint he thought of most, missed the most, was rather depressing and led Silver to thoroughly despise his complete inability to know his own heart until it was much too late. He had let chances to be more to Flint pass by many times, afraid to press his luck despite their friendship, but looking back he wished he had not been such a coward, especially after Flint told him about Thomas. Sitting there on the bluff alone, it dawned upon him finally one afternoon that Flint's admission he had loved a man might have been Flint's way of telling him he was open to such relationships, giving him the opportunity to pursue something more between them if he wished.

Silver had been kicking himself for days over his lost chance with Flint by the afternoon that he turned away from the bluff to go retrieve his water flask and found Madi standing twenty feet away, watching him silently. It probably should have surprised him, but it didn't, not really.

They just looked at each other for a long time before he finally decided one of them should speak. He tried to sound cheerful, hoping to make her smile as he asked, "Am I to be forgiven, then?"

Madi was obviously not amused. "I haven't yet decided."

"Do let me know when you have," Silver said, still trying to smile. "It's rather boring here all alone."

"You chose to stay," Madi pointed out.

"I did, and I will," Silver agreed, starting forward towards her. He smiled wryly at her when he got near, adding, "I have nowhere else to go."

"We both know that is a lie," Madi said with a level look. She turned away from him to walk towards his tent as she added, "Rackham offered you a position with his crew, I know, and you would be welcome in Nassau as well."

Silver followed her, his smile fading away. "There are very many places I _could_ go, I suppose, but I should have said that there is nowhere else I _wish_ to be."

Madi snorted slightly, taking a seat on the wooden crate that was his only chair. "And yet you complain that you are bored."

Silver lowered himself down awkwardly onto the sand to sit near her. "I spend much of my time alone with my own thoughts, and I am not that interesting to myself."

Madi looked at him for a few moments and then said quietly, "I could have had some of Flint's books brought to you with your food if you asked. I have read all that he left with me."

"I would appreciate that," Silver said with a surprised smile. "I have surely read some of them, but even reading a book repeatedly would be preferable to how I've spent the month since Jack left."

"It has only been two days more than a fortnight," Madi pointed out, her lips twitching slightly. "If you cannot keep count of the sunrises, surely you can remember that the moon has not passed through full again yet."

"It _feels_ as though it's been a _year_ ," Silver said with a soft little laugh, looking away towards the sea. He could see none of the cove from there by his tent, but the blue of the sea still stretched away to the horizon past the end of the bluff. "Hands is avoiding me -- may have left the island for all I know -- and I have never in my life been so mind-numbingly bored as I have been sitting on this bluff looking out over that accursed sea, wishing I could change the things I have done, or not done."

"Such as?" Madi asked.

"Not telling you the moment I learned Thomas was alive, for one," Silver said quietly, looking at Madi again. "Do you remember the day that we left Maroon Island with the pirate fleet to retake Nassau from Rogers?" Madi nodded but didn't speak, so Silver went on. "Morgan peeled off from the flotilla the next day with the _Runswift_ when we neared Nassau, continuing north. He returned the day before the Spanish arrived with the news that the man who runs the plantation Max told me of north of Savannah, one Lord Martin Chatham, had admitted to him that Thomas Hamilton had been a prisoner there for over ten years under an assumed name. Thomas was delivered to the plantation by his supposed friend, Lord Peter Ashe, who continued to pay Chatham a yearly stipend to ensure that Thomas would be kept isolated from anyone outside the plantation other than Ashe himself. Ashe's payments ceased after his death, of course, but by then Chatham felt it was in his own best interests to keep Thomas from any contact with the outside world." He gave Madi a wry little smile, his blue eyes bleak. "You see, Ashe had told Chatham that Thomas was thought dead and that if any hint of his survival reached the wrong people, his enemies were sure to burn Chatham's plantation to the ground for hiding him from them."

"How did Morgan convince Chatham to reveal Thomas to him then?" Madi asked, curious and interested.

"At first Morgan merely told Chatham that he was seeking Thomas on behalf of an old friend," Silver replied. "That was not enough to convince Chatham to talk, so Morgan told Chatham that he worked for me. Chatham seemed worried by that so Morgan pressed his advantage, telling Chatham that I had been engaged to find Thomas by a dear friend of mine and would be very displeased if I had to come to the plantation myself to learn the truth. He hinted that I would bring Captain Flint with me if that were to happen, who I might see fit to turn loose upon his property, knowing his dislike of slavery. Chatham was so frightened by the prospect of meeting Flint that he told Morgan the whole sordid story of the affair Thomas and his wife had with a promising young officer in the Royal Navy. In Chatham's version, the young officer was from a prominent family and had just returned from a long successful Naval campaign when he met Thomas' wife and fell hopelessly in love. She then coerced the two men into an affair with each other to please her sordid tastes and the three of them lived in sin for some time before their transgressions against propriety were found out and made public, causing the officer's promising career to end and ruining his good name. Chatham had been told it was the officer's relations who wished so badly to see Thomas dead, and with a story such as that to base it on, he believed it."

"Was it all true?" Madi asked softly. "You did not give me many details of their relationship before."

"I did not _know_ the details when I spoke of Thomas with you," Silver said. "The story Chatham told was nearly the exact opposite from the one that Flint told to me, though parts were true." He paused, looking away at the ocean again and remembering when Flint spoke about those early days with Thomas during their journey to Savannah. "His family was so poor that he had to earn his chance for entry into the Royal Navy, but his innate talent with sword, pistol, and tactics saw that he was promoted quickly afterwards despite his lowly start. He was a highly-respected Lieutenant then who had commanded troops in battle with great success when he returned to London after several years of combat here in the West Indies. Thomas had an interest in this part of the world, particularly New Providence, and had the connections to one day govern here if he could devise a plausible plan to make a go of it. James' commanding officer was a Hamilton family friend very interested in Thomas' plans and knew James was familiar with the area and the prominent captains on the account, so he assigned James to assist Thomas as a consultant. It began innocently enough, merely two men who were working together, but James had never known anyone like Thomas and fell hopelessly in love with him, though he tried hard to keep it hidden until Miranda took it upon herself one afternoon to order them to stop thinking with the hair on their chests, pining for each other when they should be allowing her to watch them kiss instead."

Madi laughed softly then and Silver smiled at her, wry and amused. "Neither had realized the other felt the same until Miranda threw it all out in the open and gave them both a rather tart lecture that the mere memory of could make Flint blush like a schoolgirl many long years later. Miranda insisted that a love so strong as theirs was too special to try to deny it and promised their love would never hurt her so long as she was allowed to be some small part of it on occasion. Thomas gave in to her as he always did and James followed his lead, trusting that Thomas would never lead him wrong. They were soon blissfully happy when together and then miserable when it came time for James to return to his home on the far side of London each night, but neither of them did anything to remedy the situation until Miranda told James it was time to stop being foolish and simply move in with them. By then James had grown to love her enough that he was completely unable to refuse her anything, just as Thomas was, and he meekly did as he was told."

"Why do you do that?" Madi asked suddenly, making Silver look at her in surprise. "Why do you call him James when you speak of him with them?"

"Because with them, he was always James," Silver replied, a little surprised she had to ask something that to him was so obvious. "The Captain Flint you knew was born out of the pain and rage he and Miranda felt when their beloved Thomas was taken from them. Flint was--" He broke off and fell silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he tried again. "Flint was not just a random name taken on to hide his own. No, when he became Flint it was as if he had been forged by the heat of his rage into someone entirely new, an infinitely harder, utterly uncompromising man who feared very little and had no respect for anyone who could not best him in battle. That was what I tried to explain to you the day you exiled me. The man he had been, the James that Miranda and Thomas treasured who loved them both so very deeply, was burned away long before you or I met Flint. I had gotten a few glimpses of his true self before you and I met, that nearly-forgotten man who was thoughtful and gentle and so very loyal to those who earned his trust, but it wasn't until after I thought I had lost you that I began to realize those glimpses were the man he truly had been once, not just rare moods. The difference was even more apparent during our voyage from Skeleton Island to deliver him to Savannah. For a few days of that trip, Flint disappeared entirely and I found myself sharing a cabin with James."

Madi looked at Silver in silence for a few moments and then asked softly, "And what did you think of James?"

Silver blinked. "Think of him?"

Madi smiled slightly. "Did you like the change, John?"

"Oh." Silver let out a soft little laugh and looked away towards the sea, his gaze automatically roaming the horizon to check for sails as he thought about it a moment before he admitted, "I-- Yes. I did." He looked back at Madi. "It took quite some time for me to grow to trust him in our early acquaintance, but when I finally did it was because I had begun to see those glimpses of the man he used to be. Flint had no caring to spare for anyone other than Miranda unless they aided him in his endeavors, not even those he called friend, but James cares deeply for his friends and is fiercely loyal even when he knows that loyalty is unwise and likely to cost him dearly."

"He sounds very like you," Madi pointed out, her smile widening slightly.

Silver stared at her a moment and then admitted, "He has said more than once that he felt he and I are quite similar. I didn't see it the first time he said so, or the second, or even the fifth, but later..." He trailed off, looking down. "Losing you brought us closer than anything else that occurred this last year except possibly that dreadful week after he lost Miranda and I lost my leg. When I thought you dead I finally understood the seething rage that had driven him for so long and I embraced it freely, beginning to see the world as Flint did just as he finally began to get past his own rage and find James within himself again, and it was as if our roles had reversed. It was... decidedly unsettling to have him speak my own thoughts to me so clearly, but it was reassuring as well, knowing he still understood and supported me even at my most irrational."

"When we thought you dead after the ship went down at Nassau, he and I spoke of you," Madi said then, and Silver looked at her again in surprise. "He told me of that first night after you lost the leg, how even deep in his own pain and rage over all that Ashe had done he still could not trust your care to any on the crew, not after they had allowed you to be hurt so grievously in his absence. He was not sure when he returned to the ship that you would even live to see another dawn, you were so still and pale, but he told me that he could not stomach the thought of you dying in the damp and darkness below decks where the crew had put you. He said you are a creature of the light and air and that if he were meant to lose you, he wanted your last breath to be taken somewhere you had known some small measure of happiness."

"I had no idea he put so much thought into it," Silver said softly. "When I asked why I was there, he said it was simply the most convenient place to put me. I knew that he seldom let the others near me for some time after, but I thought that was because he so wanted them to leave _him_ alone and I was in his sanctuary." He looked away to the sea again. "When I was healed enough to begin trying to use a crutch, he still had me stay with him and we even took our meals in his cabin. He said he didn't want me risking the stairs to the galley until he was sure it wouldn't end with his quartermaster dead of a broken neck."

"I remember when you and he retreated here together later, when he taught you the sword," Madi murmured, drawing Silver's attention back to her again. "I came to watch sometimes, though I might as well have been miles away for all either of you noticed me. I wondered then if you knew how he felt about you, if he had told you."

"Told me what?" Silver asked.

Madi smiled. "That he loved you."

Silver stared at her, speechless.

Madi laughed very softly after a few moments and stood, stepping closer and bending to offer him her hands as she said, "Come on then, on your feet." He tucked his crutch under one arm and obediently took her hands, grateful for the help and her strength as she hauled him to his feet. She released his hands, smiling and just looking into his eyes for a moment before she suddenly stepped closer to kiss his cheek and then turned away. "We should start back. Food will be ready soon if it is not already, and you should eat a proper meal tonight. You've lost weight."

Silver moved to follow her, silent for a few minutes before he finally asked quietly, "Am I to walk back to my tent in the dark, then?"

Madi snorted, glancing over her shoulder at him. "As if I would allow you to fall and break your neck, navigating the trail in darkness. If I decide I want you dead, I'll do it myself and be done with you."

Silver laughed, he couldn't help it. Flint had told him the same thing once, almost word for word. "Good to know."

Madi walked in silence for a few moments before she suddenly spoke again. "You will stay with me, of course, as you did before. I'll send someone for your things."

"There is truly not much to bring," Silver pointed out. "A few meals worth of food in a sack, a change of clothes, a blanket, my pistol and sword."

Madi looked back at him again then, moving to walk next to his good side and then looking again at the faint trail ahead of them up the hill through the trees. "I had noticed you are unarmed. Do you think that wise?"

"I've been rather disinclined to care recently if anyone wants me dead badly enough to come have a go at murdering me," Silver admitted, wryly amused as he looked down to navigate over a tangle of tree roots that could catch his crutch if he wasn't careful. "A fight for my life would at least be something to do." He glanced at Madi, smiling a little wider. "I've a knife and my crutch, and I've survived with less many times."

Madi looked at him again, her lips twitching as her dark eyes sparkled with amusement. "You could have asked Israel or one of the guards to retrieve you a book to read. Even as angry as I was, I would not have denied your right to Flint's books."

"I have not seen Hands in quite some time," Silver pointed out. "And I had honestly forgotten Flint left the books here after my stint as a hostage against his good behavior."

"You were not a hostage," Madi protested, smiling. "You were our guest and in need of medical attention that we could provide more easily than he could. We simply cared for you while he was busy arranging what was needed for the next step of the plan you two cooked up between you."

Silver laughed. "Speaking of cooking, did I ever tell you about the time he taught me to cook a pig?"

Madi blinked at the abrupt subject change. "No, you did not. I was under the impression you were the only man sailing upon these waters who had the audacity to claim to be a cook despite the fact you are unable to actually make even something so simple as eggs into anything edible."

"I make quite lovely eggs, for your information," Silver protested. "My first attempt at cooking a pig left half the crew sick and the other half unwilling to touch anything I had a hand in making, though." Madi giggled slightly and he grinned as he went on. "It was soon after Flint took me on when I was meant to keep to the galley and cook, so Flint took it upon himself to be sure I would not poison his crew a second time."

Madi laughed softly. "I am honestly surprised that he can cook a pig either, I must admit."

"Ah, yes, most are who don't know his sordid past as I do," Silver agreed, still grinning. "In his misspent youth, his very first voyage on a ship of the line was as a cook's assistant. He held the post over a year before he managed to save an officer's life in battle and earn an endorsement to help him get into the Royal Navy."

Madi smiled, reaching for his hand to tangle their fingers together. "Tell me of this pig he taught you to cook."

Silver gave her hand a gentle squeeze and began to tell the story, feeling as if perhaps his world wasn't quite so desolate as he had felt it to be just a few short hours earlier.

 

~*~*~

 

Thomas stepped up behind James at the doorway to their tiny cabin, wrapping his arms around James and nuzzling his ear as he murmured softly, "I was not sure anyone could hate this place more than I did in my early days here, until now."

"I am trying, Thomas," James replied with a wry smile as he leaned back against Thomas, enjoying the simple pleasure of being held as he looked off towards the east despite the darkness outside their home. Judging by the crescent moon that hung low on the horizon it had been just over a month since Silver delivered him to Thomas, long enough that Thomas' touch was once more familiar to him as his own, but he still treasured every moment they had together as though it might be the last. He was all too aware that there were no guarantees in his life despite Silver's best efforts to see him safe with his beloved Thomas, far from the many enemies he had made in his days as the pirate Flint. "It has been a very great change for me," he added softly after a few moments, "going from living free on the sea with battles a common fact of life and no two days ever exactly the same to the quiet monotony of life as a farmer. Today while I bundled the cane with Gregory and Maymun and you stacked in the wagon I found myself wishing that one of them wanted me dead so I could have a nice fight to enliven my day."

Thomas chuckled softly and kissed his cheek. "It's Sunday tomorrow. I could go a round or two with you."

James snorted softly, smiling as he tilted his head towards Thomas, resting his temple against Thomas' forehead. "Even at my most bored, if I am spending time with you I promise you that I can think of better things to do than pretend to fight."

Thomas smirked slightly, shifting a little closer to press his body more firmly against James. "So can I."

James purred and canted his hips back towards Thomas in unmistakable invitation before he turned in Thomas' arms to give him a little smirk as his hands moved to Thomas' waist almost of their own accord. "I like your idea for this evening much better than mine. Watching the moon rise truly wasn't that interesting." He kissed Thomas, biting gently at his lower lip, then released it to growl softly, "I thought you were going to get water for a bath, though."

"I was," Thomas agreed, kissing James again before he murmured, "but then I noticed that tub your Silver saw provided for us is big enough for two if we're careful." He smirked. "And will take much less water that way."

James grinned, his eyes sparkling in the dim light of their fireplace. "Remind me to write him a letter of thanks tomorrow."

"I may write him one of my own," Thomas agreed with a wicked grin as he began to back into the cabin, pulling James along with him.

James let go of Thomas for a moment with one hand as he glanced back to push the door shut behind him, then he turned his attention back to Thomas' sparkling eyes. He hardly realized he was speaking aloud as he murmured, "Thank God for John Silver."

"Amen," Thomas agreed, and then they were kissing again and words were no longer necessary.

 

~*~*~

 

Silver sat up as he jerked awake with a hoarse cry, breathing hard and looking around frantically a moment before he slowly relaxed. He was in Madi's home on the extra bed that had been put in her front room for him even before she went to the bluff to bring him home, not in that dimly lit galley on the _Eurydice_ surrounded by redcoats with Madi dead on the floor while Billy and Rogers traded blows to crush his other leg.

"The same nightmare?" Madi asked softly. He looked towards her voice to see her standing in the doorway to her bedroom, a black silken robe wrapped loosely around her that she had stolen from him the first time that she shared his bed, what seemed like ages ago. "With Rogers and Billy?"

Silver nodded, sure that he was safe but still unable to resist the need to reach down and rub his good leg to make certain it truly was still there, that it wasn't just a ghost sensation like he still often felt from the left foot he'd lost months ago. Very little scared him any longer, but the one thing that terrified him more than the thought of watching someone he loved die was the possibility of losing his good leg. He had seen a man who had lost both legs only once in his life, a pitiful shadow of a man he nearly fell over one night leaving a pub in Bristol. He would cut his own throat before he ended up like that.

Madi walked over to sit on the edge of the bed next to him, reaching out to brush his hair back from his sweat-dampened face as she said softly, "I wish that I knew how to free you from this. You have not slept more than an hour or two at a time since you returned here."

Silver swallowed hard, fighting to make his voice light to hide how shaken the dream always left him. "It will pass. It did before."

"What rid you of the dreams last time?" Madi asked, stroking his hair gently.

Silver smiled wryly, letting himself lean into her touch slightly. "It will make you laugh at me."

"I laugh at you often," Madi pointed out with a hint of a smile. "Once more will not hurt you."

"Cheeky wench," Silver muttered, pretending annoyance.

"You quite like my cheeks, as I recall," Madi said with a wider smile.

"As I'm not allowed to enjoy them any longer, I'd appreciate it if you did not remind me," Silver said, trying not to laugh.

"Stop trying to change the subject," Madi said, tugging firmly on a section of his hair even though she was still smiling. "What helped with the nightmares before?"

Silver could feel his face heating up as he admitted quietly, "After the fifth night that I woke him up repeatedly, Flint declared he was tired of my yelling and had one of the men put up a second hammock in his cabin, next to his. He insisted I sleep there instead of my usual bed by the windows so that he could kick me awake if I started to whimper in my sleep." He smiled wryly despite his lingering embarrassment. "Imagine his surprise and mine when the nightmares didn't return the next night."

Madi looked kind of surprised, though her smile didn't fade. "Was it the fear he'd truly kick you, or merely that he was close by?"

Silver felt his face heating up more again as he admitted softly, "I rather think it was that he was next to me. He had my hammock hung close enough to his own that I could hear him breathe and I remember feeling quite safe in the knowledge he was guarding me even in my dreams." He looked away, adding a bit wistfully, "Even when we fought, I always knew that if I needed him, he would come to my aid. He proved it time and again." He looked at Madi again, adding, "Did I tell you about when he and I came to blows on Skeleton Island before we rescued you, when he was there to hide the _Urca_ cache?"

Madi shook her head, looking serious. "No, you left out much of what had happened that day."

"He wanted for us to fight you free, not give up the cache to Rogers, so he stole it from the boat with the help of one of the original _Walrus_ crewmen that was still with us, a man named Dooley that had sailed with Flint long before I even knew who he was and never failed to be loyal to his captain." Silver took a slightly shaky breath, looking away towards the far wall of the room but not really seeing it. He was remembering Dooley, who had saved his life no less than a dozen times before that day on Skeleton Island. "Dooley and I had been friends," he went on after a few moments, "though not as close as I was to some, but that all changed that day on Skeleton Island. Dooley felt he had to take sides and he chose to back Flint, disappearing into the interior of the island with him to help him hide the cache that I was so desperate to give to Rogers so he would return you to me. I gathered five trusted _Walrus_ crew members who knew well that though Flint and I might be at odds for the moment I did not wish him any major harm, and we set off after them." He swallowed hard, his gaze falling to the left knee of his trousers, and then he plucked at the loose fabric to tug it back down over his stump, which he had finally noticed was bare.

Madi reached for his hand, taking it in hers as she murmured, "You need not hide from me. Go on."

Silver nodded, not looking up at her as he shifted to hold her hand in both of his. "Flint and Dooley split up after they were on the island and we could not tell which trail was which or who had taken the chest, so I divided my men as well and we all fought through the jungle to catch up to Flint and Dooley." He hesitated again, then said very quietly, "I was soon left behind with Hands, too slow to keep pace, but it would have been better for the others not to catch him either. Flint killed them, one by one, and then when it was just he and Dooley fleeing Hands and I, Flint and Dooley managed to lose us long enough to bury the cache. Flint and Dooley were separated somehow afterwards as they moved back towards the _Walrus_ and Flint was alone when Hands and I caught up to him."

He took a shaky breath, remembering how quickly Flint had dispatched Hands, who was one of the finest fighters Silver had ever known. "Flint fought with Hands for only a few moments before he knocked Hands out and then it was just he and I." He let out a soft little sad laugh. "I was so scared for you, sure that Rogers was going to murder you while Flint played his games, and I kept trying to kill Flint, but he ignored a dozen or more chances to kill me as he kept trying instead to talk me over to his plan to simply take you from Rogers. I was beginning to tire, to make more mistakes, when I suddenly heard someone cock a pistol behind me." He finally lifted his gaze to Madi's again. "Flint yelled to stop even as he drew his pistol and fired over my shoulder in a single move. I turned to look expecting to see Hands dead, but it was Dooley who lay there with his pistol in hand and such a surprised expression on his face."

Madi covered his hands with her free hand, giving him a sad, sympathetic look as she murmured, "He could not let you be hurt, even then."

"I know," Silver agreed. "That was when I believed him finally, believed he truly thought he was helping me, doing what was best for us. I couldn't _agree_ , I thought him to be too eager to risk your life on a hope we might win, but before we could truly come to blows again we heard explosions from the inlet followed by volley after volley of gunfire. Hands had recovered and the three of us fled together for the shore, of one mind again for the moment and desperate to see what had happened, and then we emerged from the trees to see the _Walrus_ burning while Rogers' redcoats picked off our men like fish in a barrel with that traitor Billy Bones in the lead longboat. Billy was killing the last of the _Walrus_ ' original crew one by one with carefully placed shots while Flint and I ran out into the water to try to save them."

"It must have been horrible for you," Madi murmured, sad and pained. "For _both_ of you."

"Billy shot men he had once treated as his brothers right out of our hands, making sure to leave Flint and I alive to see it done," Silver said quietly, unsuccessfully trying to blink back tears at the memory of watching their faithful crew slaughtered so needlessly. "If Rackham had not shown up then to aid us, we surely all would have died."

"I heard the rest of it from Featherstone on the journey back here," Madi said softly, lifting one hand to wipe away a tear on Silver's cheek. "You needn't repeat any more, John."

"There was one more bit that Featherstone didn't know to tell, no one did but Flint and I," Silver murmured, inhaling noisily before he went on. "We were soon alone in the _Lion's_ captain's cabin, and despite my anger at all he had done that day, he told me he wanted to fix what had nearly broken between us, that he knew what it was like to lose the one he loved. I had asked him once what he would do to have Thomas back again and he hadn't answered me, and that day was when he finally told me that it was because he couldn't honestly say anything he _wouldn't_ do to have his Thomas, but that I could rely on him to see me through getting you back so that he and I could move forward again. That was when I decided I must send him to Savannah, no matter what price I might have to pay for it."

Madi was silent for a few moments, waiting to see if he would say more, and then finally said softly, "Billy came to me after that battle, just before the second battle when you freed me." Silver stared at her, shocked, but she didn't give him a chance to speak before she went on. "He held a knife to my throat babbling on about how he wanted to remove Flint from you even though he feared that it was too late and might destroy you both, how he had broken his oath over and over in pursuit of freeing you from him only to realize it could not be done, that you two were so linked that you could not be torn apart short of killing you both, so he would see all of the _Walrus_ crew dead that day, including you both. He thought to kill me just in case he was wrong in a final attempt to drive a wedge between you and I told him to do it, to give you both another ghost to fight together to avenge. He left, and I did not see him again."

"Flint fought him high in the rigging during the boarding battle," Silver murmured softly. "I missed much of it, fighting to help take the _Eurydice_ , but I saw when Billy finally fell to the sea." He hesitated and then added, "He is likely on Skeleton Island now, all alone with the ghosts of the crewmates he murdered. He always was a strong swimmer, and Flint did not hurt him badly before he fell."

"I could almost wish you were a ship's captain, to have a crew at your beck and call to go back and finish the job," Madi said quietly. "He will be trouble again if he is allowed to live."

"I've no doubt of it," Silver agreed, "which is why I asked Rackham to see to him for us when he finished with the Guthrie woman." He smiled slightly, tight and fierce. "Rackham's last letter said that Anne was quite looking forward to the prospect of lashing Billy to the mast of the _Walrus_ if it still stands and leaving him there gut shot to die slowly to pay for his crimes. I believe she will do it too, if she has not already."

"Morgan is due here in a few days," Madi pointed out with a fierce smile of her own. "He will know, if any do."

Silver nodded. "He will." He hesitated and then added softly, "And perhaps he'll have word of James as well. I asked Morgan to go to Savannah for the supplies your people asked for and to check on him for me, then he planned to visit Nassau on the way back here."

"I know, Israel told me." Madi shifted to get up off the bed suddenly then, still holding onto his hand as she murmured softly, "If having another close will help keep your demons at bay, John, then come to bed."

Silver looked up at her for a long moment and then admitted softly, "I don't know if it will work with anyone but him."

"Then we will try it, and if your dreams are haunted again at least we will know," Madi said gently. She leaned to reach for his crutch and then looked at him again. "Up with you."

"It's a good thing I am used to taking orders," Silver said, smiling as he let her help him to his feet.

"Yes, it is," Madi agreed, offering him the crutch to tuck under his bare arm. "And you would do well to remember it."

"I am sure you won't allow me to forget," Silver replied, soft and amused.

Madi just smiled and hooked her left arm through his right to urge him towards her bedroom, one slow step at a time.

 

~*~*~

 

Sundays were a day of rest on the Chatham plantation, the only day each week that all slaves but the stable boys and stockmen had no duties at all, their time free to spend at their leisure. Most spent the day with friends or lovers, relaxing and enjoying the limited freedom they were given under the watchful eyes of the guards who were always nearby, both to protect them and to keep them from escaping.

The few plantation 'guests' who were allowed correspondence would be called up to the manor house to collect their messages on Sunday mornings, and they were allowed to send out replies until the bell rang to announce the evening meal that same day. They were only given mail from approved recipients, those set down by the ones who paid for their incarceration, and could only send out replies, never messages to anyone else.

Thomas had never been allowed correspondence at all, but after James received the first letter from Silver, every fortnight without fail James was called up to the manor again. There were always two letters in very different hands waiting for him, one elegant and ornate, the other simple and plainly done. Sometimes there would be a small box that Chatham himself would open and inspect before passing it over to James, and twice there had been a carefully wrapped book, protected by layers of oiled leather and thick paper to keep the book safe for the long journey.

The letters for James and whatever else might be with them were always delivered by the same two people, though it was an even chance as to which it would be to show up every other Saturday afternoon and then again Sunday evening to retrieve the replies. Both messengers were among the few people from outside the plantation who were allowed in without any questions and trusted to ride to the main house without a guard. Most often Captain Morgan of the _Runswift_ would be the one to ride a borrowed cart horse slowly up the drive and then spend the length of a meal with Chatham before he left again, but sometimes it would be the _Lion_ anchored out beyond the tiny pier owned by Chatham and a fiery-haired woman with piercing blue eyes and an ugly old slouch hat would gallop up the drive on the same unhappy cart horse to pass over her packages to one of the house servants and then leave, usually without ever saying a word to Chatham.

After retrieving their correspondence James would return to the tiny cabin that was a sanctuary for he and Thomas before he opened anything so that he and Thomas could share the enjoyment they got from it. The small boxes held things that were for Thomas as often as for James, and each thick letter truly held at least two letters, sometimes more. Chatham knew that it was the case, of course, knew that the two sailors who delivered James' letters and packages were bringing them for Thomas as well, but Chatham also quite liked the small presents for _him_ that were delivered without fail along with the correspondence. Sliver had paid handsomely for James to have a small one-room cabin with his Thomas and to make sure they were allowed to be together almost every minute, never called to task for talking to each other as long as their share of the work was being done. The extra gifts Morgan and Rackham included with each package Silver sent just insured that Chatham continued to feel favorable towards James and Thomas, as much out of enlightened self interest as out of fear of the dreaded pirate Long John Silver, who had retired after the Maroon treaty as a favor to his old friends on New Providence Island but could still find a ship and crew glad to do his bidding in nearly any port if he were to ask.

James and Thomas enjoyed their Sunday routine every fortnight, a welcome distraction from the quiet monotony of their lives. They would read Madi's letters first, her simple hand easy to read as she told them of Silver's most recent foolishnesses and rumors of James' old friends and how they were coping with life without their captain or his well-loved quartermaster. Her letters were always amusing, full of her dry wit and a sly humor that was often at Silver's expense, and as Thomas and James read them aloud to each other James sometimes fancied he could almost hear her voice. The letters made him miss her, desperately so sometimes, but he was still glad to have them. They never failed to bring a smile to his face and to Thomas', often accompanied by laughter, and they both loved her for that.

When the first letter from Silver arrived just over a month after he left James behind there, James had been surprised by how elegant his hand was. He had seen Silver make notations for the ship often of supplies needed, locations and timetables, even entries to the ship's log that Silver would slip in when he wasn't watching, but it had all been in a simple block print that had made James think Silver had little schooling despite his intelligence. The first letter from Silver laid that idea to rest and made it very plain that Silver was not only well-schooled, but also has a decided flair for writing. The simple block print James had seen him use before was evidently in deference to his poorly-schooled crewmates.

Silver's first letter to Thomas had been a long one that Thomas didn't read aloud or share immediately, which had worried James a bit until Thomas finally noticed his concern and passed it over to him, smiling. Silver had written that though he had not yet met Thomas himself, he felt that he knew him well and wished them to be friends. He had gone on to relay a few stories James had shared with Silver about Thomas, stories that made James' love and need for Thomas achingly plain and bared his heart despite the fact James hadn't been the one to write them down. Thomas had replied to the letter later that day with a few stories James had told him of Silver that similarly illustrated James' affection for Silver, and Thomas' knack for relaying another's words and making them entirely recognizable made it almost as if James were telling the stories himself again. That had set the tone for the letters Thomas and Silver traded, and sometimes James wondered if they weren't a little in love with each other as affectionate as they were when they discussed his love for them both. It reminded him rather strongly of how it had been with Miranda when he spoke with her about Thomas.

Silver's letters to James were very different and yet still left James feeling that he was greatly missed. He did not doubt Silver's love for him, he could not after all Silver had done to see him reunited with Thomas, but it took a long time and many teasing remarks from Madi and Thomas for James to realize that love was not exactly platonic. Silver was carefully circumspect about his feelings when he wrote to James, hiding behind a guise of mere friendship, but when James read what Silver had written to Thomas the same week, he could not help but hear Silver's voice in his head as he read that now-familiar ornate script, warm and affectionate and leaving an impression that James was loved deeply.

James had been with Thomas for nearly three months when they received the first book from Silver. It was a rather ornately bound copy of a book of poems that held many of Thomas' favorites, somehow found by Silver despite the fact neither James nor Thomas had ever mentioned any of the poems to him. Thomas was effusive in the letter he sent to relay his thanks to Silver, telling him that many of the poems were ones he treasured because they had always made him think of James and asking how Silver knew. Neither Thomas or James expected Silver's reply a fortnight later, a short note tucked into his usual long letter that said simply, _"Anne gifted me the book, dear Thomas, and once read I felt I had to share with you, who I knew would understand as she does. S."_

The second book Silver sent to them arrived exactly four weeks after the first. It was one that James had believed lost, and it had brought tears to his eyes when he unwrapped it. He had stroked his fingertips gently over the familiar cover, tracing scuffs and scars of so many years and just looking at it lost in thought for a long while before he finally opened the cover and found a scrap of delicate parchment tucked into it. He unfolded the paper to find Silver's now-familiar script. " _When I found this among the books you left with Madi, I knew you must have it with you. Your Thomas is a smart one. Heed his advice. S."_

James had read the note twice before he read again Thomas' familiar inscription in the book, _"James, my truest love, know no shame. T.H."_ When he finally looked up from the book and note he found Thomas watching him with a soft, loving smile that made words completely unnecessary.

 

~*~*~

 

Silver sat on the bluff, his new iron peg laid next to him as he carefully inspected his stump for sore spots, smiling when he found none.

He had received the peg a fortnight ago with the last round of letters from James and Thomas, tucked into a crate of books sent on the _Runswift_ with a note that said simply, _"Now get off yer lovely arse an toss away the thrice damned stick, brother!"_

The note had been in a very recognizable scrawl that left no doubt in his mind of who sent it, making Silver feel warm inside and rather special. Anne was a very private woman, so used to hiding her emotions and thoughts that even her closest friends had no idea what she was thinking unless she wanted them to. Silver could count on one hand the people he had seen her being openly affectionate to besides her adoring husband or their mistress and still have several fingers left over, and he felt honored to have been claimed by her as a brother. He knew her well enough to know she hadn't done it lightly, and he hoped that she would come ashore while _Lion_ was anchored in the cove so that he could embarrass her thoroughly with a hug and possibly a kiss on the cheek if the hug didn't get him knifed.

Silver had never asked anyone about getting a new peg to replace the one that he had lost so many months ago, but he had often wished that he could. When he received Anne's gift he had tried it out within a few moments, and an hour later he was walking slowly along the camp's raised walkways without his stick for the first time since the _Walrus_ sank in Nassau harbor. The new leg's cuff was padded and lined with thick soft suede leather that fit about his stump so perfectly he knew that someone must have measured for it while he was sleeping at some point, most likely Madi.

The leg fit him better than the first one ever had, the soft suede conforming to his stump so that it supported him firmly without pain. He was still careful not to push himself too much, his memories of how the first peg leg had chafed his stump and then split the skin still vivid even after so long, but he found reasons to walk around often each day. Slow careful steps soon gave way to walking more quickly, and then one day he realized he could walk as fast as he ever had on his real leg, every step sure and easy.

That was the day he finally risked walking the mile to his favorite spot on the bluffs, and the fact he had reached it quickly and easily with no pain to pay for it felt like a very great victory. He was soon sitting with his new leg strapped back into place and his elbows on his thighs, hands hanging between his knees as he gazed out over the water at the _Lion_ and the _Runswift_ , smiling and thinking not for the first time about inviting himself along on one or the other and going to see James. He missed James more with every letter he received, it seemed, and the trip would be easy now that he would be able to walk about without fearing his crutch would slip away. The bottom of the metal 'foot' of his new peg had been roughed with a file, cross-hatched deeply to bite into whatever surface he walked on, and he was very sure it would let him finally be sure-footed on the heaving deck of a ship once more.

"Shall we assume from the lack of a crutch about you that the peg is satisfactory, my dear friend?" Jack Rackham's familiar cultured voice suddenly said behind him, making Silver twist to look at him in surprise. Rackham was standing a dozen feet away with Anne tucked against his side under one arm, both of them smiling.

Silver was unable to keep from grinning. "It is far beyond satisfactory. It's _perfection_! I don't know how either of you managed it, but this one fits much better than my first ever did, and that suede lining makes all the difference in the world."

"That'd be because I cheated," Anne said cheerfully, making Silver laugh as he stood to walk towards her. Anne's smile widened into a pleased grin as she watched him move, then when he had almost reached them she elbowed Jack, looking up. "I _told_ you those measurements I had Madi get for us would do the trick! He's walkin' almost like new!"

"Yes, you did," Jack agreed easily, pleased. "And you were quite right, my dear, obviously so."

Anne preened smugly, looking at Silver again. "It's about bloody time you had a decent peg. Every time I watched you fight to keep up with Flint on that crutch, me own arm hurt."

Silver stepped closer, smiling as he reached for Anne and pulled her into a hug, ducking his head to murmur near her ear, "Thank you, my dear. You have no idea the gift you've given me."

Anne wrapped her arms around him, hugging back for just a moment, then pulled back as she pushed at him, saying cheerfully, "I don't know about all that now. I think I have a pretty good idea." Silver let her push him back, still smiling warmly at her and deciding not to push his luck with a kiss, and then Anne surprised him by adding with a sly little smile, "Y' know, Morgan'll be sailing into a particular cove north of Savannah just in time for next Sunday..."

Silver laughed softly and looked away towards the two ships floating at anchor, trying to ignore the heat of a blush he could feel building in his cheeks as he admitted, "I was just thinking the same thing when you walked up on me, actually." He looked down, testing his footing with a pleased little smile before he looked at Anne again, blue eyes sparkling. "A trip on a fast sloop is rather easier when one isn't depending on a wooden crutch to get about."

"I haven't a clue how you ever managed it so long, Silver," Jack said quietly then, suddenly serious. "I have often marveled at how you did so with the grace and speed you did, no matter the weather or the circumstances. Watching you in battle with that crutch always left me feeling rather inadequate."

"James drilled me with the sword and crutch until it was second nature," Silver admitted with a wry smile. "If not for him, I'd have been dead long ago, I'm sure."

Jack tilted his head with a slight smirk. "He's James now to you too then?"

"He's been James again for a long time now, Jack," Silver replied, completely unaware of how his smile softened. "Flint is dead and gone, and it's the best thing that ever happened to him."

"I got to see him and his Thomas when I was there last," Anne said then, making Silver look at her in surprise. "Usually that Chatham bloke don't like outsiders seeing the 'guests', but we was running late 'cause of a storm and they were talking with him an' that overseer bloke when I rode up."

"How does he look?" Silver asked softly.

"Happy," Anne said immediately, smiling. "Shaggy, too. He's let his hair get near as long as it was when I met him, but he had it loose instead of that little tail he favored, all flyin' about in the breeze."

"And Thomas?" Silver asked, smiling too. He could almost see James in his mind, his hair finally grown back and a sparkle in his green eyes, smiling.

"Tall and handsome with eyes near as blue as yours an' a smile that makes them disappear," Anne replied, "though both of 'em shaves a hell of a lot more often than you ever bother to."

Silver laughed, lifting his right hand to his chin to stroke his beard, which never really seemed to grow anymore, staying about an inch long even though he had to trim his mustache often to keep from eating more hair than food. "I've thought about shaving it, but honestly it seems a bit like work." Jack laughed, surprised, and Silver grinned as he added, "Once I shave it off I have to _keep_ shaving it or it'll be back the same in a fortnight."

"I'd imagine Madi might like it shaved," Jack pointed out with a little smirk, amused.

Silver laughed. "Madi couldn't care less what I do with it."

"Most ladies prefer kissing a smooth face," Jack said, still smirking.

Silver snorted. "Like I said, my beard isn't going to bother Madi."

Jack's eyebrows went up in surprise as he half-asked much more quietly, "You two are no longer...?"

"Haven't been since she found out about the treaty, Jack," Silver replied, amused and wry. "Do try to keep up."

Anne glanced at Jack. "He took away her war." She looked at Silver, meeting his gaze as she added more softly, "And gave her up to see an end to Flint."

"It was long past time for Flint to be put to rest, very nearly too late," Silver said just as quietly. "I won't say it didn't hurt that she pushed me away for what I did for James, she saw it as a betrayal and it hurt her deeply enough that we can never go back to what we had before, but those I love are alive and safe and I will most certainly take that over the nightmare she and Flint had planned for our world."

"As will I," Anne agreed very softly. She surprised Silver then by stepping close and stretching up to kiss his cheek before she looked seriously into his eyes and added quietly, "Thank you, John. I'm sorry you had to give 'em both up to save us all."

"It was worth it, as I said," Silver murmured. "I haven't seen them but the letters I get from James and Thomas are proof enough that I did right by them, and Madi is safe and happier than she would like to admit."

"An' they left you all alone," Anne pointed out quietly.

"My bed is lonely," Silver admitted, "but it has been so for much of my life, and Madi and I are friends again now, at least. It could have gone worse. For a time I wondered if I might not live alone here on the bluff the rest of my life."

"Morgan's sailin' on the next tide," Anne said then, changing the subject. "You should go read your letters, get them answered."

"Yes, I should," Silver agreed, moving to put his left arm around Anne's shoulders and start her quickly down the path towards the camp, reveling in the fact he _could_ walk so easily with someone again. "And you should come tell me more about how James has changed."

"He don't smell of the sea at all now," Anne said with a grin, slinging her arm around Silver's waist as they walked together. "Chatham let me have a minute with 'em an' I got a hug. He smelled all flowery like a pricey whore fresh from her bath. Told him he'd have to tell me where he got his soap so's I could get Max some, an' he said to ask you."

Silver laughed. "I've no clue. Thomas complained of the cheap lye soap they were given and I asked Morgan to find him something suitable for a nobleman." He smirked. "He might well have taken it from a nobleman for all I know. He does still sail on the account when those willing to pay for his services are a bit scarce."

Anne snickered. "If he did, the nobleman was a bit of a ponce. Thomas don't much fit that though, he's tall and a bit narrow but he's muscled up nice." She smirked. "An' in all the right places, too. Lovely arse on 'im, near as fuckable as Jack's."

Silver laughed again, he couldn't help it. "Oh love, how I do miss you when you're not around." He kissed Anne's temple soundly.

"Could you two not discuss my arse when I'm about, please?" Jack asked from behind them then. "Especially not in that context. Thanks everso."

Silver and Anne looked at each other and then burst out laughing. When they had recovered their calm Silver redirected the conversation towards gossip about their friends in Nassau, and it seemed like no time before they were back in the camp, approaching the stairs up towards Madi's home.

Anne stopped when they got close, pulling away from Silver as she said with a smile, "You go on, read your letters. I ain't had a decent bite to eat yet today an' whatever they got on the spit smells lovely."

"It truly does," Jack agreed, amused. "I shall have to ask if they might sell us a goat or two. We've a long boring journey ahead that would be decidedly less unpleasant with fresh meat along."

"Where are you bound?" Silver asked, surprised and interested.

"Lady Guthrie is in Saint Augustine's and sent a courier asking that we ferry her to Nassau to see for herself what her money and influence has wrought there, then take her back home to her mansion," Jack replied, smirking slightly. "It seems that her trip south was rather horrible and now she doesn't trust the sea with anything less than the  _Lion_ to keep her safe."

"Smart lady," Anne said easily, grinning. "Not a captain anywhere in these waters what would hit our _Lion_."

"Or any other waters, I'd wager," Jack agreed, smug.

Silver laughed. "I'll not take that wager, I'd surely lose." He grinned at Anne and Jack and then turned away to head quickly up the steep stairway as he added, "I'll see you both when I've finished my letters."

"No hurry," Jack said cheerfully. "I intend to take my time enjoying that delectable-smelling _barbacoa_."

Silver looked back towards them from the top of the first stairway, grinning. "Have someone save a plate for me, I'm starving."

Anne laughed, moving to hook her arm through Jack's when offered her his elbow. "I'll bring you up a plate."

Silver beamed at her, pleased. "You are a saint among women, Mistress Rackham."

Anne smirked up at Silver, blue eyes bright and sparkling. "Not hardly! We like havin' fun far too much." She winked at Silver and then gave Jack a push to get him moving towards the big building where the majority of the cooking was done.

Silver chuckled and put his attention back on where he was going, continuing towards Madi's home. Even after a fortnight of walking with his new leg it was still a novel experience, and he reveled in how much easier it was to move quickly from place to place. The encampment made extensive use of raised walkways, building upwards instead of outwards for the most part, and it was much easier for him to navigate the maze of steep stairways without his crutch.

It seemed like no time before he was walking into Madi's hut, smiling when he saw Tom Morgan sprawled on the bed that was Silver's when Madi first let him return to her home. Silver slept in a hammock strung up in her bedroom now, close enough for him to be able to sleep most nights but never sharing her bed. He and Madi didn't talk about it, but they both were very aware he wouldn't be able to stay with her much longer. She had moved on and was spending a lot of time with a strong young man named Jabori, and Silver had gotten the definite feeling that Jabori thought it was about time that he was the only man in Madi's bedroom. Jabori and Madi had known each other since they were children and had long thought they would marry until the arrival of the _Walrus_ crew had changed their world and sparked Madi's hopes of revolution. When the prospect of war slipped away from her, taking with it the majority of her romantic feelings for Silver, Jabori had tried again to catch her eye. Madi's mother was all for the match, and Madi had always liked Jabori, so she had been spending more and more time with him lately.

Morgan lifted his arm off of his eyes as he heard Silver approaching the bed, then sat up quickly, reaching for the thick packet of papers he had laid on the bed next to him. "Here you go, sir," he said with a smile, offering them to Silver. "Thomas asked that I have you read his last, though he didn't tell me why."

"I'll make sure that I do," Silver said, smiling as he accepted the letters. He was surprised to see Thomas' familiar hand on the outside, addressing it only to him, and looked at Morgan as he asked, "Did they not write to Madi this time?"

"I already passed hers on," Morgan explained, standing up and straightening his clothes as he avoided Silver's gaze. "She was ... here with one of the guards when I arrived and took her letter with her when they left, said something about leaving you some privacy to read."

Silver smiled wryly, sure that it was Jabori who had been here with her. "It was likely Jabori, they are quite close these days."

"And you are not?" Morgan asked quietly, then added a bit hurriedly, "I only ask because I count you as a friend, sir. There are those of us who worry about you here, so far from most of your friends."

"Madi and I are _friends_ , Tom," Silver replied, still smiling wryly as he wondered if he should have Anne spread the word of what had gone on between he and Madi so everyone he saw wouldn't feel the need to ask him again. "She and Jabori were very close before I met her and I believe they might marry soon. The Queen keeps dropping hints about it, and Madi has been spending quite a bit of time with him."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir," Morgan murmured. "I know you cared for her very deeply."

"I did, and do for that matter, but I knew what I was doing when I made my choices," Silver said easily, moving towards Madi's desk with his packet of letters. "I chose to save James from himself, worked for it in secret for weeks before time, as you well know, and while she has finally _forgiven_ me I don't think she will ever be able to _forget_. She sees my actions since your return with news of Thomas being alive as a slow and lingering betrayal of her, hiding my true plans behind lies that I would support her war while all the while hoping to see it ended before it could begin." He looked over at Morgan as he pulled out the chair, giving him a crooked smile. "Honestly, I think now that it was inevitable, even if I hadn't lied to her." He looked back at the desk, settling into the chair. "James told me as much. I should have listened to him and prepared myself for it, he always understood her better than I."

"I had heard they were... close," Morgan agreed, the shifting of his boots on the wood floor seeming loud in the quiet room. "I didn't believe all the rumors, of course, but I gathered there was some truth to it to make the gossip mongers bold enough to make the claims they did."

Silver looked towards Morgan, amused. "She _did_ sleep in his bed for a short time after the _Walrus_ sank in Nassau harbor, but it was for my sake, and hers. Her bodyguards were exhausted from all the fighting then and needed sleep themselves, and James has always been a light sleeper with the utmost respect for a lady. By keeping her with him, he could be sure that she would be protected if there was an attack in the night."

"I thought it must be something like that, sir," Morgan agreed quickly. "He's been mighty protective of you since..." He broke off, realizing belatedly that Silver might not like to be reminded.

"Since I lost my leg," Silver finished for him, looking back at the desk to open his packet of letters. "I think that was when he finally realized I truly cared about the _Walrus_ and our crew." _'And him,'_ Silver added silently to himself. He hadn't noticed it at the time, but looking back he knew that was when things had begun to change between them. He wondered sometimes now how things would have gone differently if he had chosen James instead of Madi right from the start and never tried to make her into anything more than a friend. It would have changed everything, he was sure, but he couldn't begin to predict how.

"Billy used to talk about the change between you then," Morgan said, not really stopping to think before he spoke. "He had half those who knew you two thinking you were sharing a bed, going on and on about Flint ruining you."

Silver snorted softly, setting aside the letter from Thomas to open the one from James first, as Thomas had asked. "Billy never admitted it as far as I know, but things he said to Madi just before we took her back from Rogers made her think Billy was in love with me and that much of his insanity there at the end was inspired by the hope he could steal me back, as if I were ever his to begin with." He turned his head to look at Morgan again then, adding, "As to the rumors of me sleeping with James, I did but not the way the gossip mongers liked to put about. His cabin was the only one on the _Walrus_ with no stairs and right after I lost my leg I wasn't up to navigating them, so he made sure I slept in a hammock hung next to his. By the time I was getting below decks safely, we had gotten used to sharing a cabin and just continued on with what worked so well for us and the crew." He smiled wryly then, amused. "I don't know how many times I saw someone who visited his cabin stare at my hammock like it was a surprise, but I never felt the need to explain myself and neither did he. There are many worse things I could do than bend over for my captain, after all."

Morgan blinked, looking surprised as slight spots of color appeared in his cheeks. "I meant no insult, sir," he said quickly. "It was _Billy_ who had the problem. Me, I think the world is lucky you cared so much for Flint. There's quite a lot of us who are more grateful than you know for what you did, finding us all a way out of that nightmare that he was brewing."

"Care," Silver corrected, turning back towards the desk and smoothing open James' letter. "I suppose it's only fitting that I was the last to realize what my feelings for him truly are." He let out a soft huff of a laugh, looking at the letter but not really seeing it yet. "I think even Thomas figured it out before I did, and he and I have not yet met."

Morgan was silent for a moment and then sounded just a bit hesitant as he said, "Captain Flint asked about you, when I was there last." Silver turned his head to look at Morgan again, surprised, and Morgan went on. "Lord Chatham and I have become friends of a sort and he let me deliver your correspondence myself this last trip, calling Flint up to the manor house while I was there. I think he's been worrying about you, though he didn't say why. He asked if you looked alright when I saw you last, if you've been taking care of yourself and sleeping right, as if I would know. All I could tell him was that you looked fine to me." He hesitated, then asked quietly, "Had you told him about Madi and Jabori?"

"No, but if he's so worried about me I have little doubt that she did," Silver replied, amused and wry. "He likely has been beside himself since she did, and Thomas too. They expected her to take care of me for them." Morgan's eyebrows went up in surprise at that and Silver felt like he should explain, adding, "Thomas and I have grown rather close as well the last few months. We understand each other, he and I."

"I wasn't going to tell you something Flint asked me, but I think now that I probably should," Morgan admitted, making Silver frown slightly in surprise. "He wanted to know if you've rethought staying here."

"I have," Silver replied, smiling. "You won't be delivering letters for me this time."

Morgan looked surprised for only a moment before he smiled. "You're going to make the trip with us, sir?"

Silver nodded, still smiling. "I miss him and want to meet Thomas, and Madi needs her space, I think." He patted his left knee, adding, "Besides, I'm finally rid of that damnable crutch, thanks to Anne, so I can get about well enough to make myself useful, even on a sloop as fast as the _Runswift_. I'm not much use up in the rigging, I never had the head for heights, but I can work the deck or even the galley, I won't mind."

"My crew would _mutiny_ if I let you work for your passage," Morgan said with a surprised little laugh, eyes widening. "I don't think you quite realize how those of us still on the account feel about you, sir, especially the ones who know exactly what you did for us all. You gave up everything you had to make our lot in life better, and we'll _never_ forget that."

Silver was a bit surprised to hear that, but he smiled after a moment, pleased. "I didn't lose _everything_ , Tom. I know it may look like that to some, but it's not true. Not any more, at least." He looked down at James' letter again, unable to resist reading the beginning with a soft little smile.

_Silver,_

_I was going to try to stay out of it, let you lead your own life without my interfering, but I simply cannot do it! Why did you not tell us Madi had found herself some other man? If she has hurt you, so help me God I will break us out of here and be on your next courier ship so I can come have words with the woman myself! It wouldn't be very difficult. Nolan had Thomas hold his_ _flintlock_ _for him while he went to have a piss yesterday, and it wasn't the first time. It is all more than a little ridiculous, honestly. The guards act almost as if Thomas and I are working with them, not 'guests'. We're only still here because Thomas asked me not to leave without good cause, but if that woman is treating you badly, that is more than enough reason as far as I am concerned. And he's reading over my shoulder laughing at me, but he's not arguing so I know he agrees. If he did not he would have taken the letter to make me try again already._

"No, I haven't lost nearly so much as I gained," Silver murmured with a quiet laugh, feeling very warm and loved. He dragged his gaze away from James' letter, looking over at Morgan again as he asked, "How long until you plan to sail, Tom?"

Morgan leaned to look outside, checking the position of the sun, then looked back at Silver. "Maybe two hours, sir. No more than that or we'll have to wait for tomorrow. Those derelicts sunk out in the cove are easy enough to avoid in daylight, but I'd not want to risk them in the dark. Why?"

"Could you ask one of your crew to scrounge up a few crates for me?" Silver asked, still smiling. "I'm not sure when I'll be back here and I don't want to leave James' books behind, not the ones important to him at any rate."

"We've _stacks_ of crates on the _Lion_ ," Anne said cheerfully, walking in with a wooden platter piled with _barbacoa_ , fruit, and cheese, a bottle of rum tucked under one arm. "I can send the boys out, get all y' might want."

"That'd likely be best," Morgan agreed, pleased. "We cleared out the hold as we passed Nassau. I'm not sure we've got anything down there except rations for the trip back to Savannah." He grinned. "Well, and the shot and powder. Won't do for us to find a ripe plum and have no way to pluck her, as it were."

Silver laughed and moved his letters over to make room for Anne to set down his plate and the rum. "You, Mistress Rackham, are a goddess among women for bringing me food and you have my undying thanks. I may yet drown the way the scent of that divine _barbacoa_ is making my mouth water."

Morgan laughed, shaking his head while Anne grinned and kissed Silver's cheek. "Never change, brother."

Silver smirked, picking up a piece of the tender slow-roasted _barbacoa_ as he said cheerfully, "After so many have tried to change me and met with utter failure, I'm rather sure it's impossible." He popped the bite of meat into his mouth, groaning happily at the taste. "God, that goat deserved to die!"

"He did!" Anne grinned and turned away to head for the door. "I stole a few bites making his plate and it's choice, Tom. You should come get some, it won't last forever. I'll send Fritz and Charlie for the crates, they already stuffed themselves."

"I believe I will," Morgan agreed, smiling and pleased. He looked towards Silver, adding, "I'll be back in an hour or so with a few men to get your things, sir."

"That would suit perfectly, thank you," Silver agreed, smiling at Morgan before he popped another bite of meat in his mouth, chewing happily while he turned back to his letter.

_I rather wish you'd talk Thomas into letting us leave here, honestly. We could be out of our little house one night and over the wall in a minute or two, and I'd bet my best sword that not a one of these fools would even notice until we didn't show up for work the next day. The night guards spend much of their time asleep, and even awake they are abysmal shots. Larsden is likely the best of them and yesterday while we were out looking for a stray milk cow he tried for a deer that couldn't have been more than twenty feet away. He not only did not kill it but the fool did not even touch it! I was tempted to take his knife and throw it to kill the bloody deer but Thomas would have yelled at me for scaring Larsden._

_Thomas says if I don't change the subject he's burning this to start over, so I suppose I should. I hope you really are doing well. I worry about you, especially after reading Madi's letter a moment ago. I doubt she's even told you she's marrying that idiot Jabori. I remember him. He's tall and muscled up like a bull which I suppose must be attractive to her but any halfway intelligent bull could outsmart him without making much of an effort._

_He's laughing at me again but I swear that I am speaking God's honest truth about Jabori. When we fought to defend the island there I asked him to gather up a dozen empty muskets and start loading them for those who were shooting. I looked a few minutes later for the muskets only to discover he had loaded them into a cart behind me and left them there. They were still empty!_

He continued eating as he read, almost able to hear James' voice in his head as he occasionally laughed softly to himself over his ranting, wondering if James had been drinking or if he was simply going a bit insane with boredom. He rather thought it was the latter.

 

~*~*~

 

"You'll know he's fine very soon, honestly," Thomas said with soft laugh, amused by the way James was pacing in their one-room cabin. There was only room to pace at all along the side where the fireplace was, and James could cross from wall to wall in five impatient strides. He was spending almost as much time turning around at each wall as he was pacing.

"You did not see him when he thought he had lost her before, Thomas," James disagreed, frowning slightly and looking worried as he had for most of the last fortnight. "He worked hard to hide it from others, but when it was just he and I the masks fell away and I could see how very destroyed he was. He loved her far more than is wise despite my warnings that he would not be enough for her. When she thought he was dead her grief overwhelmed her for only a little while, but his was painful to see until he discovered she was truly alive and even then he was a wreck until he had her safe with us again where we could protect her."

"Her letters have given me the impression she was more enamored with the idea of him than John himself," Thomas agreed, "but I have not gotten the impression he has left his heart in her keeping, James. Far from it, in fact."

James stopped pacing to look at Thomas, surprised. "Truly? You're not just trying to get me to be still? I know my pacing drives you mad sometimes."

Thomas chuckled. "Actually, just this once it's rather amusing to me," he admitted with a little smile. "Now, if he were to be told _you_ had forgotten him, _then_ I could see your sweet Silver falling apart, but that girl? She has been only a friend to him for several months now and he has gotten past any regret he had over it all. He has told us so in his letters." He stood, walking over to James to rest his hands on either side of James' neck, tipping his head forward to rest their foreheads together as he smiled and murmured gently, "He had to choose, beloved, and he chose to let her go so that he could see to your happiness and safety. You are still here safe and sound with me, so he is fine."

James leaned into Thomas' touch for a long moment, just breathing in his familiar scent and enjoying the feel of Thomas so close, then said very softly, "I still can hardly believe he did that for me. I saw how deep his love for her goes, and to know he gave that up to save me from myself, to bring me to you..." He trailed off, unable to even find the words to say.

Thomas kissed him softly and then just pressed close, foreheads and bodies resting together as he whispered, "It says all you need to know about his heart and who owns it if only you listen."

James didn't reply, his arms slipping around Thomas to hold on as he just relaxed against him, slowly beginning to believe that Thomas might actually be right, that Silver might be perfectly fine without Madi.

They had stood together for a long time when there was a quick four-beat knock on the door that made James jerk away and turn to look at it, eyes going wide. He had heard that familiar knock on his cabin door far too many times to count, and he was fairly certain that there was no one left alive who might know it except for himself and the man who had always knocked on the door politely before entering it even though they had shared the cabin freely between them.

"Come in!" Thomas called, surprised and curious because of how James had reacted.

James swallowed hard, watching as the door opened and then a very familiar face leaned around the edge of it to look first at Thomas and then at James, smiling. "Might I come in?"

James nodded wordlessly, staring as Silver stepped into the cabin and then closed the door to stand quietly. He was smiling as he looked at James, but James was oblivious as he took in all the tiny ways Silver had changed in the last few months. His long hair had gotten even longer, the top and sides pulled back while the rest hung loose in a riot of shining dark curls. The beard had been partially shaved so that his cheeks were clean, his mustache and goatee both trimmed short and tidy and looking very good on him, and he wore a deep blue coat over a very simple, plain black tunic that was unlaced at the throat, snug black breeches James was sure he had seen Silver wear before, and the familiar battered old boot, a new iron peg on his other leg. He had lost weight and was slimmer than James remembered at the end of their long run together but it looked good on him, making James remember that almost pretty young man who had stood so fearlessly at his shoulder so many times when he needed him even before they truly knew each other, what felt like a lifetime ago.

Silver was just as fascinated by the changes in James, so he didn't mind just standing quietly while James looked his fill. James looked very good to Silver's eyes from the short neatly trimmed red beard to the sun-bleached red-gold hair that brushed his collar, his green eyes beginning to look very warm as James slowly smiled. He wore a simple loose pale tunic that wasn't quite white with brown breeches and his own belt and boots that had seen a thousand battles and more and still looked surprisingly good. James' muscular chest and shoulders were just as Silver remembered, but the belt was a bit loose and Silver wondered if it was just because James had been working so hard he lost his extra padding or if they weren't eating quite so well as Silver had been led to believe they would.

Thomas watched them stare at each other, very amused and sure who it must be that had come to see them even though no name had been given yet. After a little while he said teasingly, "I swear to you, if I don't see a proper hello between you two soon, I shall make you both regret it thoroughly."

Silver laughed, easy and light, his blue eyes sparkling as he moved to offer Thomas his hand. "I've waited such a long time to meet you, Thomas. John Silver, though most everyone simply calls me Silver."

Thomas took his hand and used it to pull Silver in close, wrapping his other arm around Silver as he kissed Silver's cheek and then said quietly, "Thank you for sending him to me."

Silver released Thomas' hand to wrap his arms around Thomas instead, holding him tightly as he said gently, "It was my very great pleasure, Thomas, I promise you. I should be the one thanking you." Thomas pulled back slightly to look at Silver, surprised, and Silver added in that same warm, gentle tone, "Without you to remind him what is truly important in life we would have lost him."

Thomas smiled, lifting one hand to brush at Silver's unruly curls. "You had done that long before you sent him here to me. _You_ were the one to help him remember he was once James, that gentle, honorable man we love, not only the rather impressive Captain Flint who is known throughout the world as the scourge of the West Indies."

Silver laughed softly. "They still speak of Flint in reverent tones. I'm not sure he will ever be forgotten."

"I rather think James is feeling a bit forgotten right now," Thomas said, his grey-blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

"James is enjoying seeing you both in the same room together at long last," James corrected, smiling. His earlier agitation and worry was forgotten. One glimpse of Silver's eyes had told him Thomas was right, about everything. "I cannot think of many sights that could make me happier."

"I would wager you that I can do it today," Silver said cheerfully, finally releasing Thomas to turn towards James. He took only a step towards him before he stopped, staring into James' warm green eyes.

"I learned not to ever bet against you long ago," James replied with a familiar slight smirk. He moved forward, covering the two long strides between he and Silver in an instant and then pulling Silver into his arms to hold him tightly as he whispered, "I missed you so."

Silver held on tightly to James as he murmured, "No more than I missed you." He had decided even before he boarded the _Runswift_ that he would hide nothing from James this time, following his heart and trusting it not to lead him wrong. He shifted one hand up to James' hair, keeping him close and turning his head to nuzzle James' cheek as he whispered, "Leaving you here in chains was the hardest thing I've ever done."

James turned his head towards Silver, their foreheads and noses touching as he breathed out very quietly, "Letting you leave me here was pretty similar, I think." He kissed Silver softly, just a gentle press of lips, and Silver responded with a low sound that made James deepen the kiss even though he hadn't realized he intended to kiss Silver at all until he was already doing it.

Thomas moved to get a better view and then just smiled and watched them kiss for several minutes, slow and careful and almost achingly tender with each other. Neither of them pushed for anything more and their hands didn't roam as they both seemed to savor every moment, lost in each other as he had been sure they would be. He had read Silver's letters and listened to James speak of the partner he had to leave behind, and he had known early on that there had been much more there than the friendship they had allowed themselves.

It even made sense to Thomas why they had held back before, why both had feared to give that last part of themselves to the other. For James it had been the fear he'd lose someone he loved so deeply again, be set adrift in a world of burning rage and pain for a second time with no one to anchor him as Miranda had done, no one safe to turn to. Thomas was certain that Silver's hesitation had been inspired by similar fear, that he had known instinctively that if he let himself love James, let himself need him like he needed to breathe, it would quite simply kill him to lose him. They had both lived dangerous lives, always on the ragged edge where the slightest slip would mean death, and both had been sure that if they crossed the line from partners to lovers, the death of one would have killed them both.

Silver was the one to finally end the kiss, licking his lips before he smiled at James and murmured, "I've wanted to do that for such a long time."

James returned the smile, green eyes warm and gentle. "No more than I."

Silver kissed James again softly and then murmured, "Let me show you the gift I have for you today."

"Lead on," James agreed instantly, smiling. "We will follow your lead."

"Yes, do," Silver said with a sudden little grin, then he turned to Thomas, stepping closer and leaning up just enough to kiss Thomas lightly before he said quietly, "I'm not wanting to leave you out Thomas, I promise you. Just, with James, it was something I denied myself too long."

"No need to explain," Thomas said with a smile. "I think I knew before either of you did how this could end, _should_ end."

Silver smiled wider. "Love your faith." He kissed Thomas again and then turned to walk to the door, opening it to go outside. "Come along, you two."

James reached for Thomas' hand and they followed Silver outside together, both a little surprised to see Chatham at the table under the wide oak behind the manor house with Tom Morgan and Israel Hands. Silver led them to the table, giving Chatham a respectful nod and then looking at Thomas and James as he picked up two sheets of parchment off the table. He glanced at them and then offered one to each of them without a word, smiling.

James looked at Silver a moment and then down at the paper, reading the ornate script on it in Silver's familiar hand as his eyes slowly widened.

 

_On this fifteenth day of November in the year 1716, James McGraw was shot and killed while attempting escape. This ends his record here._

_Lord Martin Chatham_

 

Chatham's signature was in his own hand, accompanied by his personal seal.

James looked at Thomas then to find him staring at Silver, his eyes glistening with unshed tears above a soft little smile, and James reached for Thomas' paper to read it too.

 

_On this fifteenth day of November in the year 1716, Tom Milton was shot and killed while attempting escape. This ends his record here._

_Lord Martin Chatham_

 

James looked back at Silver. "Silver, what did you do?"

"I have had a long talk with Lord Chatham and disposed of the last of my share of our take for the best possible purpose I could conceive of," Silver replied with a smile, his blue eyes gentle and warm. "To free you both so that we may leave here and never need to return."

James stepped closer to Silver, laying the pieces of parchment back on the table in front of Chatham where they had been before he lifted his hands to Silver's face and pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes as he let out a soft little strangled laugh. "I knew never to bet against you."

Silver laughed too, moving his hands to James' waist. "It is a rather bad idea."

Thomas moved over next to them, resting his hands on their backs as he leaned in close to kiss Silver's cheek and then murmured, "Thank you, John."

"My very great pleasure, Thomas," Silver replied, smiling.

James kissed Silver softly and then let him go, stepping back as he asked, "So what next?"

"Next we bid Lord Chatham a fond goodbye--" Silver nodded to Chatham, who looked a bit surprised but nodded anyway, and then Silver looked at James again. "-- and we go pack what you would like to take with us while Hands fetches our horses from the front of the manor, and then we do as I am quite sure you both have wanted to do since you arrived here."

"I didn't believe I would ever be truly free again," Thomas said softly, making Silver and James both reach out to him. He took their hands in his, smiling despite the unshed tears still shining in his eyes. "Let's go. I want to breathe free salt air and feel the rush of a ship at full sail beneath my feet again."

James grinned. "I do love you." He stepped closer to kiss Thomas soundly, then looked at Silver, still grinning. "So pack, and then to the _Runswift_?"

Silver couldn't keep from grinning too. "Yes, but not to stay. She's waiting at the pier, but we're going over to another ship once she gets out to deeper water."

James' eyebrows rose, curious and amused. "And which ship might that be?"

"Well," Silver responded, "Anne and Jack might have been at Maroon Island when I decided the time had come to leave, and they might possibly have mentioned that the crew voted you won the _Eurydice_ in the final battle with Rogers. They elected you her captain."

" _I'm_ her captain?" James repeated with a little bit of a laugh. "That's a fine trick, with me here playing at being a farmer. I haven't even seen the _Eurydice_ since that battle."

"Neither have I," Silver agreed, grinning. "Not until we reached Savannah two days ago at any rate. It seems that she's been doing coastal runs since not long after you arrived here, earning enough to pay her keep and waiting for such time as you were ready to leave." He grinned wider. "Paxton and Tyson have been acting captain and mate in your absence, though they can't seem to agree on which is who, and Ben Gunn is quartermaster for them."

James just stared at Silver for a few minutes and then said quietly, "I thought Flint was meant to die."

"Flint is dead and gone, as is his grand old _Walrus_ , and I will fight tooth and nail to keep him that way," Silver responded instantly. "And as it so happens, James McGraw has just followed his example. If you and Thomas want to take over the _Eurydice_ and make a life upon the sea again you will need to decide on a new name for her captain, and for the ship as well. It is too well-known the last of the _Walrus_ crew has her, hoping against hope that their captain may somehow return to them."

James frowned at that. "And what about you?"

Silver blinked, surprised. "You have to ask?"

"I remember the day you told me that you sailed for me, not for the love of it," James pointed out quietly, "and you did not include yourself in the taking over of the _Eurydice_."

"Well then, it seems I must spell it out for you," Silver said, smiling suddenly again. "It is your decision and Thomas' that matters, not mine, because I intend to follow you as I have since I took oath to serve on your crew. We are few now, just four of us, but your crew is still prepared to take your orders should you decide you want again to captain a ship."

"And if I don't?" James asked. "If Thomas and I have talked about it and would rather make our way on some island in the West Indies in some other way to avoid the temptations of life on the account?"

"Then I will be on whatever island you choose, and gladly so," Silver replied, relieved and smiling wider. "We can sail the _Eurydice_ to wherever you have chosen and then send them on their way. You will still receive a portion of her earnings, but we needn't sail with her for it."

James looked at Thomas, who smiled. "First, we pack and leave this place, make our way to the _Eurydice_ ," Thomas said without hesitation. "Then once we are at sea we can decide what next."

James looked at Silver, amused. "You heard our captain."

Silver laughed and said teasingly, "My captain's captain."

James laughed too, nodding. "The very same."

"Captain Thomas has a rather nice ring to it," Silver said then, blue eyes sparkling. "Sounds respectable."

"That's _obviously_ not me, then," Thomas said with a laugh, starting towards the cabin he had shared with James. "I am very many things, but respectable has not been one of them for about fifteen years now, not since I met a certain young Lieutenant in the Royal Navy."

"Blame it all on me!" James said easily, moving after Thomas.

"As often as possible," Thomas agreed, smirking at James.

James laughed. "You are so bloody lucky that I love you."

"Yes, I am," Thomas agreed, still smirking. He and James disappeared into their cabin a few moments later.

Silver turned back towards the three men at the table, amused still. "Did Thomas' plans sound like something that can work for you three?"

Chatham smiled. "I've nothing to do with it. You are my guests who will be leaving soon, and then I expect we won't see each other again."

"Unless you have need of us," Silver corrected, surprising Chatham. "If you need our aid just send word to Nassau. Someone there will be able to get word to us. We owe you a great debt and one of the many things that Thomas, James, and I all agree on is that we remember those who help us."

"I'll remember that, thank you," Chatham said quietly, pleased.

Silver nodded and looked at Morgan and Hands. "And you two?"

Hands stood and began walking away towards the side of the manor. "I'll get the horses."

"Thank you," Silver responded, then looked at Morgan.

Morgan smiled. "I go where you ask, Silver, as always. Without you, I'd not even have the _Runswift_."

"I may have paid off the debt on her for you when I was flush, Tom," Silver pointed out quickly, "but as I have told you before, you've earned her price a dozen times over by now."

"I owe you a debt of _honor_ , not _money_ ," Morgan said, still smiling. "Wherever you three end up, you will still have need of a fast sloop sometimes, I'm sure, and I will be in need of a quiet place to anchor on occasion."

Silver looked at him for a moment and then smiled. "We are honored to have friends like you, Tom."

"Right back at you, sir," Morgan agreed, smiling.

"I expect packing would go faster with three of us working," Silver said then, turning away. "We shouldn't be long, they don't have much here."

"Feel free to use the linens as bags," Chatham said easily, standing up. He reached for the two death certificates to put into his files in the house, adding, "Anything in the cabin they want or need is theirs."

"Thank you, Lord Chatham," Silver said easily, still walking towards the cabin.

"No thanks needed, Master Silver," Chatham said with a laugh. "You paid for all of it."

Silver laughed too, and a few moments later he disappeared into the cabin.

Morgan heard horses approaching and looked up to watch Hands lead the five mounts they had arranged for from Chatham towards him, one of the guards following behind on his own horse. Another guard had headed back towards the tiny private pier where the _Runswift_ was tied up, taking back the horse and cart they had borrowed to get to the plantation.

In an hour or so, Morgan expected they would all be gone about their business; he, Silver, Thomas, Flint, and Hands to the _Runswift_ for the short ride out to where the _Eurydice_ waited in deeper waters just off shore, and the guards back to the plantation with the borrowed horses.

 

~*~*~

 

Silver closed the front door gently behind him, careful to make no sound as he walked across the wide covered porch and down the stone steps. Once he was on the sandy path he didn't have to worry any longer about his peg making noise enough to wake the two in the house, lengthening his stride to walk quickly towards the bluff.

James and Thomas were still asleep, but he had been awake for some time and was on his way back from the privy when he passed an open window just in time to hear the faint sound of a ship's bell carried in on the breeze. He had immediately turned to the front door to go have a look, grabbing the glass off the ledge above the door as he went out, wondering who it might be. There were no ships scheduled to arrive for days yet, he was fairly certain, but he could have lost time again. He was good at forgetting the days.

Silver stopped on the edge of the bluff and raised the spyglass, looking through it for only a moment before he grinned. The ship was flying the banner that the Rackhams used now when they were being respectable, bright golden lion rampant against a field of blue very like the color of Anne's eyes. There was another ship in the cove, the _Quicksilver_ who had once been known as _Eurydice_. The _Quicksilver_ had sailed in several days earlier to make some minor repairs and resupply after riding out a bad storm, so it was only polite for the _Lion's_ crew to announce their presence.

The ship's bell rang out again on the _Lion_ , followed a moment later by shrill whistle from the _Quicksilver_ , and Silver lowered the glass. It was always wonderful to see Jack and Anne, though Silver honestly preferred Anne's company over her husband's. Jack used to be wild as any of them, but going respectable seemed to have gone to his head in some ways, especially since the Guthrie family had given him glowing endorsements that sent him more business than he knew what to do with. He had three ships now and still more cargo than he could handle, and Silver was rather certain he hadn't hoisted the black in months.

Strong arms slid around Silver from behind then, making him start slightly in surprise as he looked over his shoulder even though he knew who it was instantly. James smiled warmly at him, murmuring, "Jack and Anne, isn't it?"

"Yes, the _Lion_ ," Silver agreed softly, returning the smile. "Though how you can tell that from here without the glass is beyond me."

"Always liked the figure she cuts," James replied easily. He glanced towards the water, judging how far out the _Lion_ was, then looked back at Silver, his green eyes warm and sparkling. "They'll be hours yet getting ashore." He slid one hand down Silver's belly, fingers sliding into the waist of his breeches. "Come back to bed. Thomas and I have plans for you."

Silver's smile widened. "How could I possibly refuse an invitation such as that?"

"I wouldn't know," James said cheerfully, "you never do." He turned Silver away from the sea and then started to push him slowly back towards the low stone and wood building they called home, his hand still in Silver's breeches as he lightly bit Silver's bare throat at a spot he knew was especially sensitive.

Silver laughed and twisted away suddenly, grinning at James. "Why would I want to?" He didn't wait for a reply, turning back towards their home as he started to run easily towards it.

James laughed and chased him, though he didn't try very hard to catch up.

He loved watching Silver run.

 

~ End


End file.
